Ministry Pain

One of the toughest parts of this ministry is the pain. Seeing the pain in the kids' lives; knowing that there are people in this world who could help them, love them, and show them what it feels like and means to be cared for; and watching the worldview of these helpers interfere with the greatest assistance they could offer these kids, themselves. Their pain becomes my pain and it is overwhelming. I hear their stories and grieve because I know people who could help, but they are too selfish to help. I want to pray and I am called to pray, but I stop shortly after "God help them," because I know that to pray would be too exhausting and to start means I would have to at some point stop.

There are kids who are emotionally, socially, spiritually, and physically dying who just need one person to truely show they care. What will that take? A few hours? A few days? An investment of time and emotional energy? The risk of being hurt and wounded and thinking all the work wasn't worth it?

Even if you can't see the immediate results, I can tell you you've had an impact. I can share story after story of lives I've seen changed. A child coming to believe there is a god is a huge step, even if the youth has not stepped into salvation. A teen saying, "I called you because I know you are the only person who cares that I am alive," is a saved life. A shy young woman willing to tell a news reporter how she has a new life in Christ. A grumpy teen who can now smile and is ready to be challenged to walk through the waters of baptism. A mother who now has the support of other parents as she struggles to raise her rebellious daughters. These are changed lives.

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